“The Inspector” at Yale Repertory Theatre by Zander Opper

“The Inspector”

Yale Repertory Theatre

The artists at Yale Repertory Theatre certainly know what they are doing.  In their chilling production of Nikolai Gogol’s “The Inspector” (newly adapted by Yura Kordonsky, who is also the director of the show), this is a play that develops slowly through its two acts before truly leaving an audience member stunned.  In truth, “The Inspector” (which was first published in 1836) can be maddening, at times perplexing, taking on the comedy of the absurd, and, at intermission, I was slightly confused where the show was going. 

But leave it to director Kordonsky to make everything coalesce in the frightening second act.  The large cast mostly works as an ensemble (though Brandon E. Burton stands out as the mayor) and their collective work is very strong.  There are many humorous moments in “The Inspector” at Yale Repertory Theatre, though don’t be surprised if the show doesn’t make you choke on your own laughter.

On Silin Chen’s stark white set, with the stage mostly covered in snow, the first scene finds the mayor having a nightmare where there are cast members dressed as rats and other rodents, with some of the actors running up and down the aisles in the theater.  The nightmare is actually brought about because it is established early in the play that an inspector is coming to the town (located in Russia) to investigate how everything is being kept up.  It is also mentioned that the inspector will be traveling incognito.  Not to give too much away, but the town is in very bad shape, because of grift, incompetence, and corruption.

The opening act shows the townspeople understandably panicking.  In addition to the mayor, the townspeople include a nosy postmaster (well played by Annelise Lawson), a somewhat unethical director of public health (the fine Whitney Andrews), and the timid school superintendent, portrayed by the funny John Evans Reese.  With the town in an uproar, the plot concerns a lot of mistaken identity, as well as bribery and other underhanded actions.

As it happens, the main character in the show is the stranger Ivan Khlestakov, enacted with conviction and insidious humor by Samuel Douglas.  Douglas literally comes in contact with every member of the town and these encounters are slyly presented in the tense and increasingly scary second half of the show.  In addition to the characters already mentioned, there is Anna, the mayor’s wife, and their daughter Marya.  Elizabeth Stahlmann, as Anna, and first seen wearing curlers, elicits the majority of the laughter in the show and Chinna Palmer is lovely and touching as Marya.  Every cast member makes a lasting impression, though, and the performers also include Nome SiDone, Darius Sakui, Grayson Richmond, and the amusing Edoardo Benzoni and Malik James.

The costume design by KT Farmer is extremely imaginative and Masha Tsimring does brilliant work lighting the show.  “The Inspector” is wildly fanciful and mystifying, at times, but please keep from getting too confused by the show.  Director Yura Kordonsky has more than a few tricks up his sleeves and the collective payoff of the play proves to be astounding and much more than the sum of its parts.  “The Inspector” at Yale Repertory Theatre can be recommended for the adventurous theater-goer and what makes the show so haunting is to see just how relevant the themes and actions in this 1836 play are to the present day.

“The Inspector” runs through March 19, 2025 at Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven CT. For tickets and information, please call 203-432-1234 or visit yalerep.org.

Photo: Entire cast, with Samuel Douglas and Brandon E. Burton, Center

Photo by Joan Marcus